US20220125265A1

US20220125265A1 - Intelligent vacuum device with extendable and deformable suction arm

Info

Publication number: US20220125265A1
Application number: US17/080,005
Authority: US
Inventors: Yudong Luo; Hui Cheng; Liang Zhang
Original assignee: Guangzhou Thirty Seven Degree Smarthome Co Ltd; Meteorolite Ltd
Current assignee: Guangzhou Thirty Seven Degree Smarthome Co Ltd; Meteorolite Ltd
Priority date: 2020-10-26
Filing date: 2020-10-26
Publication date: 2022-04-28

Abstract

An intelligent vacuum device is provided. A main body of the vacuum device has a dust bin and a main vacuum port formed on a bottom side thereof and communicated with the dust bin. An extendable suction arm is switchable relative to the main body between a first position and at least one second position. The extendable suction arm has at least one actuator and at least one arm vacuum port thereon, and the arm vacuum port is communicated with the dust bin. At least one detection sensor is disposed on the main body to detect a surrounding environment of the vacuum device and generate corresponding sensing signals. A controller is used to control movement of the vacuum device based on the sensing signals, and control the at least one actuator to switch the extendable suction arm between the first position and the at least one second position.

Description

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates generally to smart vacuum robot technology, and more particularly to an intelligent vacuum device with an extendable and deformable suction arm.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The background description provided herein is for the purpose of generally presenting the context of the present invention. The subject matter discussed in the background of the invention section should not be assumed to be prior art merely as a result of its mention in the background of the invention section. Similarly, a problem mentioned in the background of the invention section or associated with the subject matter of the background of the invention section should not be assumed to have been previously recognized in the prior art. The subject matter in the background of the invention section merely represents different approaches, which in and of themselves may also be inventions.
Vacuum cleaner is a great invention to address household and commercial cleaning needs. By sucking air through vacuum port and filter them, dusk and other debris are removed, and the area is cleaned. The effectiveness of a vacuum is proportional to its power, i.e., the airflow it generates and inverse-proportional to the size of its suction port.
Compared to traditional household vacuum cleaners with power of 1000 watts to 2000 watts, vacuum robots have power usually ranging from 30 watts to 60 watts due to the size, weight and price constraints on the battery it can use. In addition, the suction ports on most vacuum robots may not be able to reach corners and edges, so rotating side brushes are introduced to push dirt closer to suction port. Also, roller brushes are used to better lift dirt and debris from the ground, especially a carpet. However, roller brushes are known to get tangled with hairs and strings and can lower cleaning efficiency or even damage its motor. Removing hairs and strings from rollers is an unpleasant task that no user wants to do.
Therefore, a heretofore unaddressed need exists in the art to address the aforementioned deficiencies and inadequacies.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to an intelligent vacuum device with an extendable and deformable suction arm. In one aspect, the vacuum device includes: a main body provided with a dust bin and a main vacuum port formed on a bottom side of the main body, wherein the main vacuum port is communicated with the dust bin; an extendable suction arm disposed on the main body and being switchable relative to the main body between a first position and at least one second position, wherein the extendable suction arm is provided with at least one actuator and at least one arm vacuum port on the extendable suction arm, and the at least one arm vacuum port is communicated with the dust bin; at least one detection sensor disposed in the main body, configured to detect a surrounding environment of the vacuum device and generate corresponding sensing signals; and a controller disposed in the main body and communicatively connected to the at least one detection sensor and the at least one actuator of the extendable suction arm; wherein when the extendable suction arm is in the at least one second position, the arm vacuum port is located outside the main body, and the vacuum device performs vacuum cleaning through the arm vacuum port; and wherein the controller is configured to: receive the sensing signals from the at least one detection sensor and control movement of the vacuum device based on the sensing signals; and control the at least one actuator of the extendable suction arm to switch the extendable suction arm between the first position and the at least one second position.
In one embodiment, the at least one sensor is further configured to detect an object in the surrounding environment, and the controller is further configured to: determine, based on the sensing signals, whether the extendable suction arm is in collision with the object; and in response to determining the extendable suction arm to be in collision with the object, determine a direction of the collision and a strength of the collision.
In one embodiment, the extendable suction arm has a flexible structure.
In one embodiment, the extendable suction arm is connected to the main body through a compliance structure, and the compliance structure provides flexibility to the extendable suction arm relative to the main body with respect to an external force.
In one embodiment, the controller is configured to control the at least one actuator of the extendable suction arm to switch the extendable suction arm between the first position and the at least one second position by rotating the extendable suction arm to a specific angle relative to the main body.
In one embodiment, the extendable suction arm has an extendable telescope structure, and when the extendable suction arm is in the at least one second position, the controller is configured to control the at least one actuator of the extendable suction arm to switch the extendable suction arm between the first position and the at least one second position by changing the extendable telescope structure of the extendable suction arm to an extending length.
In one embodiment, the controller is configured to control the at least one actuator of the extendable suction arm by: analyzing, based on the sensing signals, the surrounding environment; detecting and tracking, based on the sensing signals, objects in the surrounding environment; planning, based on the objects detected in the surrounding environment, an arm action and an arm configuration; and controlling the at least one actuator of the extendable suction arm to rotate the extendable suction arm and to changing the extending length of the extendable suction arm based on the arm action and the arm configuration.
In one embodiment, the controller is configured to control the movement of the vacuum device based on the sensing signals by: planning, based on the objects detected in the surrounding environment, a robot trajectory and an arm trajectory of the extendable suction arm; and controlling the vacuum device to move along the robot trajectory to ensure the extendable suction arm moving through the arm trajectory.
In one embodiment, the arm configuration comprises a first mode and a second mode; in the first mode, the at least one actuator is configured to control the extendable suction arm to switch to a driving position, such that the extendable suction arm is switchable between the first position and the at least one second position relative to the main body; and in the second mode, the at least one actuator is configured to control the extendable suction arm to switch to a braking position, such that the extendable suction arm is fixed relative to the main body.
In one embodiment, a base end of the extendable suction arm connected to the main body is provided at a front end of the main body.
In one embodiment, the main body is provided with a main suction channel formed therein, and the main vacuum port is communicated with the dust bin through the main suction channel; and the extendable suction arm is provided with an arm suction channel, and the at least one arm vacuum port is communicated with the dust bin through the arm suction channel.
In one embodiment, a base end of the extendable suction arm connected to the main body is provided at a side of the main body.
In one embodiment, the extendable suction arm has a trap door located on a side of the arm suction channel; when the extendable suction arm is in the first position, the trap door is in an open position to connect the main suction channel and the arm suction channel, and the main vacuum port is communicated with the dust bin sequentially through the main suction channel and the arm suction channel; and when the extendable suction arm is in the second position, the trap door is in a closed position.
In one embodiment, the main suction channel, the arm suction channel and the dust bin are connected in series.
In one embodiment, the arm suction channel, the main suction channel and the dust bin are connected in series.
In one embodiment, the main suction channel and the arm suction channel are connected to the dust bin in parallel.
In one embodiment, an area of the main vacuum port is larger than an area of the at least one arm vacuum port.
In one embodiment, the vacuum device further includes a release structure disposed on the main body and communicatively connected to the controller, wherein when the release structure is activated, the controller is configured to release the extendable suction arm.
In one embodiment, an obtuse angle is formed between a moving direction of the vacuum device and an extending direction of the extendable suction arm.
These and other aspects of the present invention will become apparent from the following description of the preferred embodiments, taken in conjunction with the following drawings, although variations and modifications therein may be affected without departing from the spirit and scope of the novel concepts of the disclosure.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The accompanying drawings illustrate one or more embodiments of the invention and, together with the written description, serve to explain the principles of the invention. The same reference numbers may be used throughout the drawings to refer to the same or like elements in the embodiments.

FIG. 1A shows a vacuum device according to one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 1B shows the vacuum device as shown in FIG. 1A, where the extendable suction arm is switched to a first position.

FIG. 1C shows an enlarged view of the trap door when the extendable suction arm is in the first position as shown in FIG. 1B.

FIG. 1D shows schematically the vacuum device as shown in FIG. 1A, where the extendable suction arm is switched to a second position.

FIG. 1E shows an enlarged view of the trap door when the extendable suction arm is in the second position as shown in FIG. 1D.

FIG. 1F shows schematically a vacuum device according to another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2A shows schematically the cleaning constraint of the main vacuum port of the vacuum device as shown in FIG. 1A at a corner area with an obstacle.

FIG. 2B shows schematically the cleaning extendibility of the arm vacuum port of the vacuum device as shown in FIG. 1A at the same corner area with the same obstacle.

FIG. 3A shows schematically a vacuum device according to a further embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3B shows schematically the extendable suction arm of the vacuum device as shown in FIG. 3A.

FIG. 3C shows schematically the vacuum device as shown in FIG. 3A, where the extendable suction arm is switched to a first position.

FIG. 3D shows schematically the vacuum device as shown in FIG. 3A, where the extendable suction arm is switched to a second position.

FIG. 4 shows an extendable suction arm, a dust bin and a blower of a vacuum device according to yet another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5A shows a process diagram of the controller of the vacuum device according to one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5B shows a system block diagram of the controller of the vacuum device according to one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 shows a flowchart of the controller of the vacuum device according to one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7A shows schematically an extendable suction arm and a corresponding driving mechanism according to one embodiment of the present invention, where the switching mechanism is in a first mode.

FIG. 7B shows schematically the extendable suction arm and the driving mechanism of FIG. 7A, where the switching mechanism is in a second mode.

FIG. 7C shows schematically an extendable suction arm and a corresponding compliance mechanism formed by two springs according to one embodiment of the present invention, where the extendable suction arm is in its original location relative to the compliance mechanism.

FIG. 7D shows schematically the extendable suction arm and the corresponding compliance mechanism as shown in FIG. 7C, where the extendable suction arm is pressed and deviates from its original location.

FIG. 8A shows schematically cleaning of the vacuum device when the extendable suction arm extends forward according to one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 8B shows schematically cleaning of the vacuum device when the extendable suction arm extends backward according to one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 9 shows schematically an arm trajectory of the extendable suction arm of the vacuum device according to one embodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The invention will now be described more fully hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which exemplary embodiments of the invention are shown. This invention may, however, be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as limited to the embodiments set forth herein. Rather, these embodiments are provided so that this invention will be thorough and complete, and will fully convey the scope of the invention to those skilled in the art. Like reference numerals refer to like elements throughout.
The terms used in this specification generally have their ordinary meanings in the art, within the context of the invention, and in the specific context where each term is used. Certain terms that are used to describe the invention are discussed below, or elsewhere in the specification, to provide additional guidance to the practitioner regarding the description of the invention. For convenience, certain terms may be highlighted, for example using italics and/or quotation marks. The use of highlighting has no influence on the scope and meaning of a term; the scope and meaning of a term is the same, in the same context, whether or not it is highlighted. It will be appreciated that same thing can be said in more than one way. Consequently, alternative language and synonyms may be used for any one or more of the terms discussed herein, nor is any special significance to be placed upon whether or not a term is elaborated or discussed herein. Synonyms for certain terms are provided. A recital of one or more synonyms does not exclude the use of other synonyms. The use of examples anywhere in this specification including examples of any terms discussed herein is illustrative only, and in no way limits the scope and meaning of the invention or of any exemplified term. Likewise, the invention is not limited to various embodiments given in this specification.
It will be understood that, as used in the description herein and throughout the claims that follow, the meaning of “a”, “an”, and “the” includes plural reference unless the context clearly dictates otherwise. Also, it will be understood that when an element is referred to as being “on” another element, it can be directly on the other element or intervening elements may be present therebetween. In contrast, when an element is referred to as being “directly on” another element, there are no intervening elements present. As used herein, the term “and/or” includes any and all combinations of one or more of the associated listed items.
It will be understood that, although the terms first, second, third etc. may be used herein to describe various elements, components, regions, layers and/or sections, these elements, components, regions, layers and/or sections should not be limited by these terms. These terms are only used to distinguish one element, component, region, layer or section from another element, component, region, layer or section. Thus, a first element, component, region, layer or section discussed below could be termed a second element, component, region, layer or section without departing from the teachings of the invention.
Furthermore, relative terms, such as “lower” or “bottom” and “upper” or “top,” may be used herein to describe one element's relationship to another element as illustrated in the figures. It will be understood that relative terms are intended to encompass different orientations of the device in addition to the orientation depicted in the figures. For example, if the device in one of the figures is turned over, elements described as being on the “lower” side of other elements would then be oriented on “upper” sides of the other elements. The exemplary term “lower”, can therefore, encompasses both an orientation of “lower” and “upper,” depending of the particular orientation of the figure. Similarly, if the device in one of the figures is turned over, elements described as “below” or “beneath” other elements would then be oriented “above” the other elements. The exemplary terms “below” or “beneath” can, therefore, encompass both an orientation of above and below.
It will be further understood that the terms “comprises” and/or “comprising,” or “includes” and/or “including” or “has” and/or “having”, or “carry” and/or “carrying,” or “contain” and/or “containing,” or “involve” and/or “involving, and the like are to be open-ended, i.e., to mean including but not limited to. When used in this invention, they specify the presence of stated features, regions, integers, steps, operations, elements, and/or components, but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, regions, integers, steps, operations, elements, components, and/or groups thereof.
Unless otherwise defined, all terms (including technical and scientific terms) used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this invention belongs. It will be further understood that terms, such as those defined in commonly used dictionaries, should be interpreted as having a meaning that is consistent with their meaning in the context of the relevant art and the present invention, and will not be interpreted in an idealized or overly formal sense unless expressly so defined herein.
As used herein, the phrase at least one of A, B, and C should be construed to mean a logical (A or B or C), using a non-exclusive logical OR. As used herein, the term “and/or” includes any and all combinations of one or more of the associated listed items.
As used herein, the term module may refer to, be part of, or include an Application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC); an electronic circuit; a combinational logic circuit; a field programmable gate array (FPGA); a processor (shared, dedicated, or group) that executes code; other suitable hardware components that provide the described functionality; or a combination of some or all of the above, such as in a system-on-chip. The term module may include memory (shared, dedicated, or group) that stores code executed by the processor.
The terms chip or computer chip, as used herein, generally refers to a hardware electronic component, and may refer to or include a small electronic circuit unit, also known as an integrated circuit (IC), or a combination of electronic circuits or ICs. As used herein, the term microcontroller unit or its acronym MCU generally refers to a small computer on a single IC chip that can execute programs for controlling other devices or machines. A microcontroller unit contains one or more CPUs (processor cores) along with memory and programmable input/output (I/O) peripherals, and is usually designed for embedded applications.
The term interface, as used herein, generally refers to a communication tool or means at a point of interaction between components for performing wired or wireless data communication between the components. Generally, an interface may be applicable at the level of both hardware and software, and may be uni-directional or bi-directional interface. Examples of physical hardware interface may include electrical connectors, buses, ports, cables, terminals, and other I/O devices or components. The components in communication with the interface may be, for example, multiple components or peripheral devices of a computer system.
The term code, as used herein, may include software, firmware, and/or microcode, and may refer to programs, routines, functions, classes, and/or objects. Some or all code from multiple modules may be executed using a single (shared) processor. In addition, some or all code from multiple modules may be stored by a single (shared) memory. Further, some or all code from a single module may be executed using a group of processors. Moreover, some or all code from a single module may be stored using a group of memories.
The apparatuses and methods will be described in the following detailed description and illustrated in the accompanying drawings by various blocks, components, circuits, processes, algorithms, etc. (collectively referred to as “elements”). These elements may be implemented using electronic hardware, computer software, or any combination thereof. Whether such elements are implemented as hardware or software depends upon the particular application and design constraints imposed on the overall system. By way of example, an element, or any portion of an element, or any combination of elements may be implemented as a “processing system” that includes one or more processors. Examples of processors include microprocessors, microcontrollers, graphics processing units (GPUs), central processing units (CPUs), application processors, digital signal processors (DSPs), reduced instruction set computing (RISC) processors, systems on a chip (SoC), baseband processors, field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), programmable logic devices (PLDs), state machines, gated logic, discrete hardware circuits, and other suitable hardware configured to perform the various functionality described throughout this disclosure. One or more processors in the processing system may execute software. Software shall be construed broadly to mean instructions, instruction sets, code, code segments, program code, programs, subprograms, software components, applications, software applications, software packages, routines, subroutines, objects, executables, threads of execution, procedures, functions, etc., whether referred to as software, firmware, middleware, microcode, hardware description language, or otherwise.
Accordingly, in one or more example embodiments, the functions described may be implemented in hardware, software, or any combination thereof. If implemented in software, the functions may be stored on or encoded as one or more instructions or code on a computer-readable medium. Computer-readable media includes computer storage media. Storage media may be any available media that can be accessed by a computer. By way of example, and not limitation, such computer-readable media can comprise a random-access memory (RAM), a read-only memory (ROM), an electrically erasable programmable ROM (EEPROM), optical disk storage, magnetic disk storage, other magnetic storage devices, combinations of the aforementioned types of computer-readable media, or any other medium that can be used to store computer executable code in the form of instructions or data structures that can be accessed by a computer.
The description below is merely illustrative in nature and is in no way intended to limit the invention, its application, or uses. The broad teachings of the invention can be implemented in a variety of forms. Therefore, while this invention includes particular examples, the true scope of the invention should not be so limited since other modifications will become apparent upon a study of the drawings, the specification, and the following claims. For purposes of clarity, the same reference numbers will be used in the drawings to identify similar elements. It should be understood that one or more steps within a method may be executed in different order (or concurrently) without altering the principles of the invention.
As discussed above, traditional vacuum robots have deficiencies such as the power limitations, suction port constraints from reaching corners and edges, and inconvenience caused by the roller brushes. In view of these deficiencies, one aspect of the invention relates to an intelligent vacuum device with an extendable and deformable suction arm, in which the suction arm allows implementation for the vacuum device to intelligently change the shape, size, direction, location and vacuum power of its suction ports based on different tasks to correspondingly handle different environments and different cleaning needs. For example, the vacuum device may be used to deep clean corners, edges and small spaces effectively without the need of rotating side brushes. Specifically, the vacuum device may switch (e.g., extend and/or rotate) the suction arm between different positions to extend an arm suction port with a smaller opening against walls or corners when there is such a need. Therefore, the vacuum device may improve the suction power, reduce complexity of path planning, and improve the cleaning effectiveness, especially along the walls, corners and small spaces. In addition, the increased power can reduce or eliminate the need of using side brushes and rollers, and therefore the need of manual removal of entangled hairs and strings on rollers and brushes.
FIG. 1A shows a vacuum device according to one embodiment of the present invention. For description purposes, a three-dimensional coordinate is provided in FIG. 1A to describe the relative directions of the vacuum device 100, where the X-axis shows a front-rear direction (with the positive direction of the X-axis being the front direction), the Y-axis shows a left-right direction (with the positive direction of the Y-axis being the leftward direction), and the Z-axis shows a vertical direction (with the positive direction of the Z-axis being the upward direction).
As shown in FIG. 1A, the vacuum device 100 includes a main body 110 and an extendable suction arm 120 disposed in the main body 110. Specifically, the extendable suction arm 120 is switchable relative to the main body 110 between multiple positions, including a first position and at least one second position. In certain embodiments, the first position is a retracted position, where the extendable suction arm 120 is retracted and accommodated in the main body 110, and each second position is an extended position (such as the position as shown in FIG. 1A), where the extendable suction arm 120 extends and/or rotates to be located outside the main body 110.
The main body 110 provides an inner space to accommodate all essential components of the vacuum device 100 therein. Specifically, the main body 110 as shown in FIG. 1A is substantially D-shaped. However, the shape of the main body 110 may be any shape based on the vacuum device 100 accommodated therein, and is thus not limited thereto. As shown in FIG. 1A, the main body 110 has a main vacuum port 112 formed on a bottom side at a front end of the main body 110, a dust bin 114 in communication with the main vacuum port 112, and a blower 116. When the vacuum device 100 is in operation, the blower 116 may be activated to draw air from the suction channel (hereinafter referred to as the main suction channel) between the main vacuum port 112 and the dust bin 114, such that the vacuum device 100 may perform vacuum cleaning from the main vacuum port 112.
Further, as shown in FIG. 1A, a controller 130 and multiple detection sensors 140, 142 and 144 are also disposed in the main body 110. The controller 130 is a computing device for controlling all the components of the vacuum device 100, including the blower 114, the extendable suction arm 120, the detection sensors, and other components. In certain embodiments, the controller 130 may be provided with necessary hardware and/or software components to perform controlling of the vacuum device 100. For example, the controller 130 may include one or more processors, one or more memory or storage modules, and/or other necessary communication buses interconnecting the processors, the memory or storage modules, and all the components controlled by the controller 130. The detection sensors 140, 142 and 144 are used to detect a surrounding environment of the vacuum device and generate corresponding sensing signals, such that the controller 130 may process the sensing signals to perform corresponding intelligent control to the vacuum device 100. As shown in FIG. 1A, the detection sensors include, without being limited thereto, a lidar 140, a visual simultaneous localization and mapping (VSLAM) camera 142, and a RGB depth (RGB-D) camera 144. In certain embodiments, the vacuum device 100 may be provided with other types of detection sensors, such as collision sensors, air flow sensors, or other sensors.
In certain embodiments, the vacuum device 100 may be provided with a release structure disposed on the main body 110 to release the extendable suction arm 120 when an emergency situation occurs. For example, as shown in FIG. 1A, a release button 132 is provided to be communicatively connected to the controller 130. When the release button 132 is pressed, a release signal may be generate to stop the operation of the vacuum device 100 and/or the extendable suction arm 120. In certain embodiments, other release structures, such as a pull bar, a switch or other mechanism may be provided to replace the release button 132.
The extendable suction arm 120 is an additional suction arm provided with extendable and/or rotatable structures relative to the main body 110, thus allowing the extendable suction arm 120 to be switchable between multiple positions. Specifically, the extendable suction arm 120 as shown in FIG. 1A is substantially bar-shaped. However, the shape of the extendable suction arm 120 may be any shape based on the design requirements, and is thus not limited thereto. As shown in FIG. 1A, the extendable suction arm 120 has a straight flexible structure, and includes an actuator 122 located at a base end of the extendable suction arm 120, and an arm vacuum port 124 located on the bottom side at a tail end of the extendable suction arm 120. Specifically, the base end of the extendable suction arm 120 as shown in FIG. 1A is provided at a side of the main body 110 near the dust bin 114, and the extendable suction arm 120 is a hollow structure, thus forming a suction channel (hereinafter referred to as the arm suction channel) therein, allowing the arm vacuum port 124 to be in communication with the dust bin 114 through the arm suction channel, such that the vacuum device 100 may also perform vacuum cleaning from the arm vacuum port 124. Further, an area of the main vacuum port 112 is larger than an area of the arm vacuum port 124. In certain embodiments, the structure of the extendable suction arm 120 is not limited thereto. For example, in one embodiment, the arm suction channel may be formed outside the extendable suction arm 120 as a separate channel attached to the extendable suction arm 120. In an alternative embodiment, the extendable suction arm 120 may be provided with multiple actuators 122 and/or multiple arm vacuum ports 124, allowing the extendable suction arm 120 to have additional degrees of freedom (such as 3 or more degrees of freedom), and the locations of the actuators 122 and/or the arm vacuum ports 124 may be determined based on needs.
As discussed above, FIG. 1A shows that the area of the main vacuum port 112 is larger than the area of the arm vacuum port 124. Specifically, to increase the suction power of the vacuum device 100, the design of the main vacuum port 112 and the arm vacuum port 124 may follow the derivations as the continuity equation (1) of fluids shown below:
A ₁ *V ₁ =A ₂ *V ₂ =A ₃ *V ₃ (1)
where A₁and V₁represent the area and the flow velocity of the vacuum output port (i.e., the port of the blower 116), A₂and V₂represent the area and the flow velocity of the main vacuum port 112, which is used in a normal mode, and A₃and V₃represent the area and the flow velocity of the arm vacuum port 124 when the extendable suction arm 120 is deployed to the second position. It should be noted from equation (1) that the cross-sectional area of the vacuum port is inversely proportional to its flow velocity. Thus, a smaller vacuum port would result in the corresponding flow velocity to be larger, and the rate of flow velocities of the vacuum device 100 may be derived as:
V ₃ /V ₂ =A ₂ /A ₃(W ₂ *L ₂)/(W ₂ *L ₃)=L ₂ /L ₃ (2)
The equation (2) may be brought to Bernoulli's equation (3), which is:
P ₁ +ρ*g*h ₁+½ρ*V ₁ ² =P ₂+½ρ*V ₂ ² =P ₃+½ρ*V ₃ ² (3)
where P₁is the air pressure at the vacuum output port (i.e., the port of the blower 116), which is a constant; ρ is the density of air; P₂is the air pressure at the main vacuum port 112; and P₃is the air pressure at the arm vacuum port 124.
Therefore, with the increase of the flow velocity at the arm vacuum port 124, a stronger negative pressure will be generated. Thus, when the area of the arm vacuum port 124 is reduced, the suction force will be significantly enhanced, thereby improving the vacuum performance and cleaning efficiency.
In addition, FIG. 1A also shows the extendable suction arm 120 to have a trap door 126 located on a side wall near the arm vacuum port 124. In certain embodiments, the trap door 126 may have an automatic/passive open and lock mechanism as shown in FIG. 1C and FIG. 1E. Specifically, when the extendable suction arm 120 is switched to a first position, as shown in FIG. 1B, the extendable suction arm 120 is retracted to be substantially accommodated in the main body 110, and the vacuum device 110 may perform vacuum cleaning through the main vacuum port 112 (with the suction air flow shown in arrows 170). In this case, the trap door 126 is pushed by a force F provided by the main body 110 (see FIG. 1C) to switch to an open position, such that the main suction channel in the main body 110 and the arm suction channel in the extendable suction arm 120 are connected and in communication with each other through the open trap door 126. Thus, the suction air flow 170 passing through the main vacuum port 112 may go through the main suction channel, the open trap door 126 and the arm suction channel sequentially before reaching the dust bin 114. In other words, when the extendable suction arm 120 is in the first position as shown in FIG. 1B, the main suction channel, the arm suction channel and the dust bin 114 are connected in series. On the other hand, when the extendable suction arm 120 is switched to one of the second positions, as shown in FIG. 1D, the extendable suction arm 120 is positioned such that the arm vacuum port 124 is located outside the main body 110, and the trap door 126 is switched to a closed position (see FIG. 1E). Specifically, the trap door 126 may fall downward from the open position as shown in FIG. 1C to the closed position as shown in FIG. 1E due to gravity. Further, the tail end of the extendable suction arm 120 may have a magnetic portion 126E to lock the trap door 126, such that the trap door 126 aligns with the side wall of the extendable suction arm 120 and remains in the closed position. In this case, the vacuum device 110 may perform vacuum cleaning through the arm vacuum port 124 (with the suction air flow shown in arrows 180), and the trap door 126 in the closed position would prevent the air flow 180 from leaking out of the extendable suction arm 120. Meanwhile, the main vacuum port 112 is not used for vacuum cleaning.
As discussed above, the base end of the extendable suction arm 120 as shown in FIG. 1A is provided at the side of the main body 110 near the dust bin 114. In other embodiments, the connection between the extendable suction arm 120 and the main body 100 may be formed differently. For example, FIG. 1F shows schematically a vacuum device according to one embodiment of the present invention. For description purposes, the same three-dimensional coordinate is provided in FIG. 1F to describe the relative directions of the vacuum device 100′. The main differences between the vacuum device 100′ as shown in FIG. 1F and the vacuum device 100 as shown in FIG. 1A exist in the positions of the components. For example, as shown in FIG. 1F, the dust bin 114′ and the blower 116′ are located at a front end of the main body 100′, and the base end of the extendable suction arm 120′ as shown in FIG. 1F is provided at the front end of the main body 110′ near the dust bin 114′. In this case, no trap door is required. Instead, the arm suction channel within the extendable suction arm 120′ is connected and in communication with the main suction channel 118′ in the main body 110′. In other words, the arm suction channel, the main suction channel 118′ and the dust bin 114′ are connected in series. Other structures of the vacuum device 100′ as shown in FIG. 1F, such as the main vacuum port 112′, the actuator 122′ and the arm vacuum port 124′ of the extendable suction arm 120′, the controller 130′ and the detection sensors 140′, 142′ and 144′, are identical or similar to the corresponding structures of the vacuum device 100 as shown in FIG. 1A, and thus are not elaborated herein.
As shown in FIG. 1F, the extendable suction arm 120′ extends obliquely backward from the base end thereof, and an obtuse angle is formed between a moving direction (e.g., the forward direction 190′) of the vacuum device 100′ and an extending direction of the extendable suction arm 120′. However, in certain embodiment, it is possible that the vacuum device 100′ moves backward or in other directions. For example, as shown in FIG. 1B, the extendable suction arm 200 extends obliquely forward. Thus, if the vacuum device 100 as shown in FIG. 1B moves backward, there is also an obtuse angle formed between the moving direction (e.g., the backward direction) of the vacuum device 100 and an extending direction of the extendable suction arm 120 as shown in FIG. 1B. In the case where the obtuse angle is formed between the moving direction of the vacuum device and the extending direction of the extendable suction arm, the extendable suction arm may avoid poking or colliding into obstacles along its moving path.
Referring back to FIG. 1A, with the extendable suction arm 120, the vacuum device 100 as shown in FIG. 1A is provided with additional extendable cleaning range and reachability. Specifically, as discussed above, the main vacuum port 112 is formed on the bottom side at the front end of the main body 110. Thus, without using the extendable suction arm 120, the cleaning range of the main vacuum port 112 is limited. In comparison, the arm vacuum port 124 is formed at a tail end of the extendable suction arm 120. Since the extendable suction arm 120 may be switchable between multiple positions, the cleaning range of the arm vacuum port 124 has a larger, extended area than the cleaning range of the main vacuum port 112. Further, FIG. 2A and FIG. 2B show schematically the cleaning constraint of the main vacuum port 112 as well as the cleaning extendibility of the arm vacuum port 124 of the vacuum device 100 as shown in FIG. 1A at a corner area with an obstacle. As shown in FIG. 2A, with the walls 230 and the obstacle 240 (such as a table corner, a lamp base, or other obstacles) forming a corner area, the main vacuum port 112 cannot reach the corner area due to the size of the main body 110 being larger than the corner area. In comparison, as shown in FIG. 2B, the extendable suction arm 120 allows the arm vacuum port 124 to get around the obstacle 240 and reach the corner area.
As discussed above, the extendable suction arm is provided with extendable and/or rotatable structures relative to the main body, thus allowing the extendable suction arm to be switchable between multiple positions. FIGS. 3A-3D show schematically a vacuum device according to a further embodiment of the present invention, in which the extendable suction arm has a slidably rotatable structure. As shown in FIG. 3A, the vacuum device 300 has the main body 310 and the extendable suction arm 320. Specifically, the main body 310 is provided with the main vacuum port 312 and the dust bin 314, and the dust bin 314 has an input port 315. Further, an L-shaped slot 360 is also formed in the main body 310. As shown in FIG. 3A, in the extendable suction arm 320, the arm vacuum port 324 is located on the bottom side at the tail end thereof, and a communication port 325 is located on the inner side wall near the base end thereof (also referring to FIG. 3B). The size and shape of the communication port 325 substantially match with those of the input port 315 of the dust bin 314. Further, as shown in FIG. 3B, multiple wheels 327 are provided on the bottom side of the extendable suction arm 320 to match with the L-shaped slot 360, allowing the extendable suction arm 320 to switch between multiple positions through the sliding matching of the wheels 327 and the L-shaped slot 360. When the extendable suction arm 320 is switched to the first position, as shown in FIG. 3C, the extendable suction arm 320 is retracted to be substantially accommodated in the main body 310, and the vacuum device 310 may perform vacuum cleaning through the main vacuum port 312 (with the suction air flow shown in arrows 370). In this case, the arm vacuum port 324 is not used for vacuum cleaning. On the other hand, when the extendable suction arm 320 is switched to one of the second positions, as shown in FIG. 3D, the extendable suction arm 320 is located such that the arm vacuum port 324 is located outside the main body 310, and the communication port 325 is positioned corresponding to the input port 315 of the dust bin 314. In this case, the vacuum device 310 may perform vacuum cleaning through the arm vacuum port 324 (with the suction air flow shown in arrows 380), and the main vacuum port 312 is not used for vacuum cleaning.
As described above, when the extendable suction arm 320 is in the first position as shown in FIG. 3C, the vacuum device 310 may perform vacuum cleaning through the main vacuum port 312, and the arm vacuum port 324 is not used for vacuum cleaning; and when the extendable suction arm 320 is in the second position as shown in FIG. 3D, the vacuum device 310 may perform vacuum cleaning through the arm vacuum port 324, and the main vacuum port 312 is not used for vacuum cleaning. In certain embodiments, the vacuum cleaning may be controlled differently. For example, in one embodiment, it is possible to perform vacuum cleaning through both the main vacuum port 312 and the arm vacuum port 324 when the extendable suction arm 320 is in the first position as shown in FIG. 3C and/or in the second position as shown in FIG. 3D. In other words, vacuum cleaning is performed through both the main vacuum port 312 and the arm vacuum port 324 regardless of the position of the extendable suction arm 320.
In certain embodiments, the structure of the extendable suction arm as well as the connection between the extendable suction arm and the dust bin may be implemented in a variety of different ways. For example, FIG. 4 shows an extendable suction arm, a dust bin and the blower of a vacuum device according to yet another embodiment of the present invention, where other structures of the vacuum device are not shown. As shown in FIG. 4, the extendable suction arm 420 is connected to the dust bin 414 through the arm suction channel 426, allowing the arm vacuum port 424 to be in communication with the dust bin 414 through the arm suction channel 426. Further, the extendable suction arm 420 has an extendable telescope structure 421 having multiple sections formed in a sleeved structure, which allows the extendable suction arm 420 to change its extending length (and correspondingly the position of the arm vacuum port 424 at the tail end of the extendable suction arm 420) by telescopic deformation, e.g., extending or retracting the extendable telescope structure 421. In certain embodiments, for example, the sections of the extendable telescope structure 421 of the extendable suction arm 420 may be formed with materials with electromagnetic properties, such as the thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) and/or neodymium magnet powders, and the main body 410 may be provided with an electromagnetic coil (not shown) connected to the sections of the extendable telescope structure 421 of the extendable suction arm 420. Thus, in operation, currents in different directions may be applied to the electromagnetic coil, causing the extendable telescope structure 421 of the extendable suction arm 420 to stretch or retract back and forth, and the properties of the material of the TPU may allow the extendable suction arm 420 to deform and receive an automatic recovery. In other embodiments, the extendable suction arm 420 may be formed with multiple layers of shape memory alloys to achieve similar flexible and deformable functions.
FIG. 5A and FIG. 5B show a process diagram and a system block diagram of the controller of the vacuum device according to one embodiment of the present invention. Specifically, as discussed above, the controller 500 may have a plurality of software modules including, without being limited thereto, a perception module 510, a planning module 520 and a control module 530, as well as a robot skill database 540 and a map database 550. Specifically, the perception module 510 is used to receive the sensing signals 560 from the detection sensors, and perform analysis to the sensing signals 560. Specifically, the analysis may include, without being limited thereto, object detection, object tracking, localization and environment analysis. The planning module 520 may perform, based on the objects detected and analyzed by the perception module 510, a series of planning, which may include, without being limited thereto, action planning, robot path planning, arm/port action planning, arm configuration planning, and port path planning. The control module 530 is used to generate control signals to control the structures of the vacuum device, and the control signals may include, without being limited thereto, drive control (i.e., control the movement of the vacuum device), arm control (i.e., control the actuator of the extendable suction arm to switch the extendable suction arm between the positions), vacuum control, mop control and steam control. The map database 550 may store the objects and the surrounding environment being detected by the perception module 510, which may be used by the planning module 520 to perform planning. The robot skill database 540 may store the “skills” (i.e., the cleaning plans) of the vacuum device and/or the extendable suction arm.
FIG. 6 shows a flowchart of the controller of the vacuum device according to one embodiment of the present invention. Specifically, the flowchart as shown in FIG. 6 may be implemented on a controller of a vacuum device, such as the controller as shown in FIGS. 5A and 5B. It should be particularly noted that, unless otherwise stated in the present disclosure, the steps of the flowchart may be arranged in a different sequential order, and are thus not limited to the sequential order as shown in FIG. 6.
As shown in FIG. 6, at step 610, the controller receives the sensing signals from the detection sensors. At step 620, the controller analyzes the surrounding environment of the vacuum device, and detects and tracks the objects in the surrounding environment based on the sensing signals. In certain embodiments, once the analysis to the surrounding environment and/or the objects is complete, the analysis result may be stored in the map database. Then, at step 630, the controller performs a series of planning based on the analysis result (i.e., data of the objects in the surrounding environment), which may include, without being limited thereto, planning of the robot trajectory and arm trajectory, arm action planning, arm configuration planning, collision planning, etc. For example, in certain embodiments, when the surrounding environment has an object that may collide with the vacuum device, the controller may perform collision planning by determining, based on the sensing signals, whether the extendable suction arm is to be in collision with the object. In response to determining that the extendable suction arm will be in collision with the object, the controller may determine a direction of the collision and a strength of the collision.
Once the planning is complete, at step 640, the controller may control the vacuum device to move along the robot trajectory, and at step 650, the controller may control the actuator of the extendable suction arm to switch between different positions and to perform arm actions based on the arm action and arm configuration being planned.
In certain embodiments, the arm configuration may be related to the actual structure of the extendable suction arm. For example, FIG. 7A and FIG. 7B show schematically an extendable suction arm and a corresponding driving mechanism according to one embodiment of the present invention, which may be used for collision compensation. Specifically, FIG. 7A shows the driving mechanism in a first mode, and FIG. 7B shows the driving mechanism in a second mode. Referring to FIG. 7A, the driving mechanism of the extendable suction arm 720 includes a motor 710, an active gear 712, a set of transmission gears 714, a passive gear 716, a magnetic break 718, and a solenoid actuator 722, and an encoder 730. As shown in FIG. 7A, when the driving mechanism is in the first mode, the solenoid actuator 722 switches the driving mechanism, such that the transmission gears 714 are in connection with the active gear 712 and the passive gear 716 respectively. Thus, the motor 710 drives the active gear 712 to rotate, and the transmission gears 714 may transmit the rotation to the passive gear 716, allowing the extendable suction arm 720 to be in a driving position, which is driven by the passive gear 716 to switch between the positions by rotation. As shown in FIG. 7B, when the driving mechanism is in the second mode, the solenoid actuator 722 switches the driving mechanism, such that the passive gear 716 is brought close to the magnetic brake 718 and disengaged from the transmission gear 714. Thus, the extendable suction arm 720 is switched to a braking position, and is thus fixed relative to the main body, without being driven by the motor 710 to switch between different positions. The magnetic brake 718 provides a braking function to fix the extendable suction arm 720. However, when the extendable suction arm 720 is to be collide with an object, and the collision force is greater than the damping/braking force provided by the magnetic brake 718, the extendable suction arm 720 may move in the opposite direction of the collision force. The encoder 730 may monitor the movement and report the collision to the controller to handle the situation, such that the controller may reactivate the driving mechanism (i.e., switching the driving mechanism back to the first mode) to drive the extendable suction arm to a new position.
FIG. 7C and FIG. 7D show schematically an extendable suction arm and a corresponding compliance mechanism according to one embodiment of the present invention. Specifically, FIG. 7C and FIG. 7D show the top view of the extendable suction arm 720, and the compliance mechanism is formed by a base 760 and two elastic springs 770 symmetrically connected between the base 760 and the extendable suction arm 720. The base 760 may be fixed to the main body, and the two elastic springs 770 provide symmetric elastic forces to the extendable suction arm 720 such that the extendable suction arm 720 remains at its original location relative to the base 760, as shown in FIG. 7C, when no external force is applied to the extendable suction arm 720. When the extendable suction arm 720 collides with an obstacle such that an external force FE is applied to the extendable suction arm 720, such that the extendable suction arm 720 is pressed and deviates from its original location, as shown in FIG. 7D. In this case, the extendable suction arm 720 is in compliance with the external force caused by the collision due to the existence of the two elastic springs 770, and the two elastic springs 770 may generate corresponding elastic forces that may return the extendable suction arm 720 back to its original location.
As discussed above, the extendable suction arm may be controlled to switch between multiple positions. For example, FIG. 8A and FIG. 8B show schematically cleaning of the vacuum device when the extendable suction arm is switch to different positions, where FIG. 8A shows the extendable suction arm to extend forward, and FIG. 8B shows the extendable suction arm to extend backward. As shown in FIG. 8A, when the extendable suction arm 820 extends forward from the main body 810, the end of the extendable suction arm 810 may easily reach the corner area of the walls 830. However, when an obstacle 835 exists along the path of the extendable suction arm 810, the extendable suction arm 810 may easily collide with the obstacle 835. In comparison, as shown in FIG. 8B, when the extendable suction arm 820 extends backward from the main body 810, the extendable suction arm 810 may avoid collision with the obstacle 835 and overcome it due to its compliance, e.g. flexibility provided by the material of the extendable suction arm 810 and/or compliance flexibility provided by the compliance mechanism as shown in FIGS. 7C and 7D. However, the end of the extendable suction arm 810 may not easily reach the very end of corner area of the walls 830, creating a blind spot at the corner area, however it is small enough (e.g. 2 mm wide) to be cleaned using the strong suction from the arm port.
In view of the two different arm positions of the extendable suction arm as shown in FIG. 8A and FIG. 8B, a smart arm action planning may be performed. For example, FIG. 9 shows schematically an arm trajectory of the extendable suction arm of the vacuum device according to one embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 9, the extendable suction arm 920 may extend backward from the main body 910. However, at the corner area, when the main body 910 rotates, the extendable suction arm 920 also switches to a different angle, such that the arm trajectory 940 of the extendable suction arm 920 may be closer to the corner area of the walls 930, reducing the blind spot at the corner area. In certain embodiments, when the suction force is significantly enhanced by changing the area of the arm vacuum port of the extendable suction arm 920, the blind spot may be further reduced or eliminated.
The foregoing description of the exemplary embodiments of the invention has been presented only for the purposes of illustration and description and is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the invention to the precise forms disclosed. Many modifications and variations are possible in light of the above teaching.
The embodiments were chosen and described in order to explain the principles of the invention and their practical application so as to enable others skilled in the art to utilize the invention and various embodiments and with various modifications as are suited to the particular use contemplated. Alternative embodiments will become apparent to those skilled in the art to which the invention pertains without departing from its spirit and scope. Accordingly, the scope of the invention is defined by the appended claims rather than the foregoing description and the exemplary embodiments described therein.

Claims

What is claimed is:

1. A vacuum device, comprising:

a main body provided with a dust bin and a main vacuum port formed on a bottom side of the main body, wherein the main vacuum port is communicated with the dust bin;

an extendable suction arm disposed on the main body and being switchable relative to the main body between a first position and at least one second position, wherein the extendable suction arm is provided with at least one actuator and at least one arm vacuum port on the extendable suction arm, and the at least one arm vacuum port is communicated with the dust bin;

at least one detection sensor disposed in the main body, configured to detect a surrounding environment of the vacuum device and generate corresponding sensing signals; and

a controller disposed in the main body and communicatively connected to the at least one detection sensor and the at least one actuator of the extendable suction arm;

wherein when the extendable suction arm is in the at least one second position, the arm vacuum port is located outside the main body, and the vacuum device performs vacuum cleaning through the arm vacuum port; and

wherein the controller is configured to:

receive the sensing signals from the at least one detection sensor and control movement of the vacuum device based on the sensing signals; and

control the at least one actuator of the extendable suction arm to switch the extendable suction arm between the first position and the at least one second position.

2. The vacuum device of claim 1, wherein the at least one sensor is further configured to detect an object in the surrounding environment, and the controller is further configured to:

determine, based on the sensing signals, whether the extendable suction arm is in collision with the object; and

in response to determining the extendable suction arm to be in collision with the object, determine a direction of the collision and a strength of the collision.

3. The vacuum device of claim 1, wherein the extendable suction arm has a flexible structure.

4. The vacuum device of claim 1, wherein the extendable suction arm is connected to the main body through a compliance structure, and the compliance structure provides flexibility to the extendable suction arm relative to the main body.

5. The vacuum device of claim 1, wherein the controller is configured to control the at least one actuator of the extendable suction arm to switch the extendable suction arm between the first position and the at least one second position by rotating the extendable suction arm to a specific angle relative to the main body.

6. The vacuum device of claim 5, wherein the extendable suction arm has an extendable telescope structure, and when the extendable suction arm is in the at least one second position, the controller is configured to control the at least one actuator of the extendable suction arm to switch the extendable suction arm between the first position and the at least one second position by changing the extendable telescope structure of the extendable suction arm to an extending length.

7. The vacuum device of claim 6, wherein the controller is configured to control the at least one actuator of the extendable suction arm by:

analyzing, based on the sensing signals, the surrounding environment;

detecting and tracking, based on the sensing signals, objects in the surrounding environment;

planning, based on the objects detected in the surrounding environment, an arm action and an arm configuration; and

controlling the at least one actuator of the extendable suction arm to rotate the extendable suction arm and to changing the extending length of the extendable suction arm based on the arm action and the arm configuration.

8. The vacuum device of claim 7, wherein the controller is configured to control the movement of the vacuum device based on the sensing signals by:

planning, based on the objects detected in the surrounding environment, a robot trajectory and an arm trajectory of the extendable suction arm; and

controlling the vacuum device to move along the robot trajectory to ensure the extendable suction arm moving through the arm trajectory.

9. The vacuum device of claim 7, wherein:

the arm configuration comprises a first mode and a second mode;

in the first mode, the at least one actuator is configured to control the extendable suction arm to switch to a driving position, such that the extendable suction arm is switchable between the first position and the at least one second position relative to the main body; and

in the second mode, the at least one actuator is configured to control the extendable suction arm to switch to a braking position, such that the extendable suction arm is fixed relative to the main body.

10. The vacuum device of claim 1, wherein a base end of the extendable suction arm connected to the main body is provided at a front end of the main body.

11. The vacuum device of claim 1, wherein:

the main body is provided with a main suction channel formed therein, and the main vacuum port is communicated with the dust bin through the main suction channel; and

the extendable suction arm is provided with an arm suction channel, and the at least one arm vacuum port is communicated with the dust bin through the arm suction channel.

12. The vacuum device of claim 11, wherein a base end of the extendable suction arm connected to the main body is provided at a side of the main body.

13. The vacuum device of claim 12, wherein:

the extendable suction arm has a trap door located on a side of the arm suction channel;

when the extendable suction arm is in the first position, the trap door is in an open position to connect the main suction channel and the arm suction channel, and the main vacuum port is communicated with the dust bin sequentially through the main suction channel and the arm suction channel; and

when the extendable suction arm is in the second position, the trap door is in a closed position.

14. The vacuum device of claim 11, wherein the main suction channel, the arm suction channel and the dust bin are connected in series.

15. The vacuum device of claim 11, wherein the arm suction channel, the main suction channel and the dust bin are connected in series.

16. The vacuum device of claim 11, wherein the main suction channel and the arm suction channel are connected to the dust bin in parallel.

17. The vacuum device of claim 1, wherein an area of the main vacuum port is larger than an area of the at least one arm vacuum port.

18. The vacuum device of claim 1, further comprising:

a release structure disposed on the main body and communicatively connected to the controller, wherein when the release structure is activated, the controller is configured to release the extendable suction arm.

19. The vacuum device of claim 1, wherein an obtuse angle is formed between a moving direction of the vacuum device and an extending direction of the extendable suction arm.